Wire drawing machine



April 18, 1933. E. w. LARSEN WIRE .DRAWING MACHINE 4 Shets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 31, 1929 my Jmww bmx [mer h/L/rsen B] mfwM/fy April 18, 1933. E w LA'SEN 1,904,147

` WIRE DRAWING MACHINE Filed Deo. V51, 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 fvg. 2.

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WIRE DRAWING MACHINEl I Filed Dec. 3l, 1929 4 Sheets-Sheed 3 v .\\\\\\\\W\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\W\\w\\\m\\\\\\\\\\m\\\\\\ April 18, 1933.

April 18, 1933. E. w. LARsl-:N 1,904,147

WIRE DRAWING MACHINE Filed Dec. 31. 1929 4 Sheets-sheet 4 2. [mer h/.L arefz 58 29A 'sRmwewAw Patented Apr.v18, 1933 Imural) STATES* PATENT OFFICE o.

EINER w. LARsEN, or cHIcAGo, rumors, AssIeNoR 'ro wEs'rERN ELECTRIC comm, f

. INOORROBRTED, or NEwYORmN. Y., A CORPORATION OE NEW- YORK wraE DRAWING MACHINE application nien munter s1, 1929. 4semi No. 417,623.

This invention relates to an apparatus for .treating material, and more particularly to an apparatus for treating strand material at 'high eeds.

An object of the invention is to provide -an apparatus for working strand material at 'highspeed which will be compact, easy of access and eilicient in operation. Further objects of the invention are to provide suitfy 1o able housing for the strand working appa-y ratus as will causeit to be safe and eiiicient in Operation, and closure means for the hLousf ing which will be lfacile of operation, permit a tight seal `of the housing, and afford a high economy of the materials used in workingthe strand. In accordance with these and other Objects,

an embodiment of the invention contemplates the provision, in a wire drawing chamber, of

four shafts arran ed in a rectangular formation, two being riven by gearing from a suitable source of wer to rotate stepped capstans mounted t ereon, and Others being stationary and inclined slightly, and carrying idler sheaves over which pass the wire. beingdrawn bythe capstans. The chamber is provided with quick closing doors'which,

being mounted upon pivoted L-shaped members, are movable 'toA close the chamber after Stringing, with a liquidtight seal by means of bifurcated racks which, moving in onel direction rotate the L-sliaped members to bring them together, and then carry them bodily forward in closed position to tightly sealfthe aperture while the machine isum operation. To string the machine, the doors are opened by reversing' the action of the bifurcated members, vthe path followed bythe doorsl during both operations lying wholly within the chamber. `A thorough understanding of the strucx ture'and operationof the invention is affordeds byV the following detailed "description,

taken in conjunction with the accompanying- 5 drawings forming a part thereof, in which Fig. l is a front' elevation of a high speed wire drawing machine constituting `an em- 7 rbodiment of the invention, showing the rout-- ing of the wire schematicall ;v Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary elevaaccess tothe dra-wingv compartment 13uA Ex-N Fig. l

Fig. 3 is a section taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2, showing `the doors in open position;

Fig. 4 is a section taken on the line'4-4 of 55 Fig. 2 showing the idler sheaves in plan;

Fig. 5 is asection taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 2 showing the capstans and capstan drive in section;

Fig. 6-is a fragmentary section taken on the 60 line 6-6 of Fi 3; Fig. 7 is a agmentarysection taken on the .line 7-7 of Fig. 3, -showing the doors closed, and i Fig. 8 is a section taken on the line 8-8 of 65 Fig. l3 Vshowing the doors closed. A

Referring now to the drawings in which similar elements are designated by'identical reference numerals, a wire drawing apparatus consists of a supply compartment 11 70 (Fig: l) for handling rod stock 12, a'drawing compartment 13 'wherein the rod stock 12- is reduced to wire 15, anda take-up compart l Ition of the 4drawing compartment shown .ment 16 all mounted upon a common founda- .11 consists of oppositely disposedside walls 18-18, a roof 19 and a rear vwall 20 which are braced and secured together by angle beams 21. For closing the supply compartment during operation of the apparatus there is provided a folding door 23 having a han'- dle 24 `by means of which the "door maybe manually raised to roll against the inner surface of the roof 19 by any suitable mechanism (not shown) or may be lowered to 35 close the compartment. A portable platform 26, having wheels 27, is provided uponA its upper surface with a -pair of truncated coneshaped posts 28-28, having suitable guard ianges 30-30 superposed thereon. Sus- 9 pended from the roof 19 of the supplycompartnentare apair of brackets 31-31,l each arranged to,support therein an idler pulley32. Jf W The drawing compartment 13 consists of 95 a bed plate'38, which is sunken intothe foun- "f' dation 17, -sides 39+-39, roof 40 and a'front portion 41, having anxaperture 14 to permit tending from the rear portion of the roof 40 100 to the bed plate38 and from the right tothe left wall 39, and welded to such ortions of the drawing compartment as to dlvide itinto front and rear sections 25 and 33, respectively, is a partition or housing 42. The housing 42 extends forward at the center in the manner shown in Fig. 3 to form a support for astationary-shaft 43 (Figs. 2, 3 and 4) upon which are mounted fourf low speed idler sheaves 44,44 in any suitable manner to permit their free rotation with a minilnum of'friction. To the right of the shaft 43 is a similar shaft 46 upon which are mounted six high speed idler sheaves 47, 47

which are also mounted to permit their, free rotation about the shaft 46 with a minimum 'of friction. It will be understood that the shafts 43 and 46 are inclined slightly from the horizontal (Fig. 3) in order to distribute wear of the wire 15 as it passes over the apparatus. Below and to the right of the shaft 43 and suitably secured toJ the face of Vthe housing 42 as to be maintained rigidly in position is a die box 48; and asimilar die box 49 is similarly mounted upon the face of the housing below and to the right of the shaft 46. The die boxes 48 and 49, are disposed somewhat to the right of the shafts 43 and 46, respectively, theircenters being directly under the peripheries 'of the idler sheaves 44 and 47 in order that the wire carried over the respective sheaves may pass perpendicularly through suitable reducing dies (not shown) which are customarily mounted in the die boxes 48 and 49 in the conventional manner.

For drawing the wire through the reducing dies there isA keyed upon' a horizontal' rotatable shaft 51 (Figs. 2, .'3 and 5) a stepped capstan 52. The shaft 51 is mounted in a rear portion 53 of the housing 42, substantially perpendicular to the path of the` wire as it passes through the die boxes 48 and 49,.by suitable ball bearings 54 (Fig. 5) and by roller bearings 55-55, and inthe housing 42 by other roller bearings 55. A nut 56 cooperates with a threaded extremity of the shaft 51 to maintain the stepped capstan 52 in lproper position upon the shaft, during its revolution to draw the wire with out slipping. The struct-ure just described constitutes a low speed capstan, the shaft 51 of whichis rotated by the co-action with a'- gear 59 keyed thereto of an intermediate gear 60 having a smaller diameter and a lesser number of teeth than the gear 59. The

intermediate gear 60 is mounted Vupon a shaft 62 extending parallel with the shaft 51 and actuatedfrom a drive gear 63 (Fig. 2) mounted upon a parallel shaft 64, the shaft 64 being rotated by any 'suitable source', of power (not shown).` To theright of the shaft 62 and parallel thereto, there is provided a similar rotatable shaft .66 carrying a stepped capstan 67 secured thereon by a nut 68.. The shaft 66carries a gear 29 which is from the low Speed capstan 52. Like the 4housing 42, beneath the idler pulley 70 is a die box 71 for containing a single reducing die, through' whichl is threaded, and by means of which the rod stock 12 is reduced as the latter is 'drawn from the cone-shaped loading posts 28-28 in the supply compartment. x

Behind each of .thedie boxes 48 and 49, respectively, the'housing 42 is provided with outlets 34 and 35 (Fig.v 1) through which ows, when the machine is in operation, from any suitable source continuous streams of suitable lubricating fluid (not shown) to facilitate the Wire drawing and to diminish the formation of copper dust in the compartment. The Huid' flows through the die boxes 48 .and 49,'pours upon the capstans 52 and 67 and accumulates in a pool at the bottom of the front section 25 of the drawing compartment, until it rises to a'level suilicient to permit the Arotating capstans 52A and67 to become lialf submerged therein. To maintain this .leyel while the wire drawing r is proceeding, the Huid enteringjthe compartment after this level is reached isdrawn o through a. drain 37 near the-bottom of the front section of the` compartment andreturned to the source. v. y

A special mechanism is provided,'in` order to prevent waste and splashing of the lubri eating fluid outwardly into the aisle, as when' y the various elements within the chamber are linrapid rotation andto 'further the safety of the operator.` Surrounding the aperture 14 of the drawing compartment 13 is a reinforc ing frame 72 which is secured tothe outer surface of lthe compartment by means of screws 73. The rear surface of each of the vertically disposedend members of the frame 72, which members are Hush with the rear taperture in the frame 72 and following the contour of the curved recesses 74. The purpose lof the recesses 74 and the gasket75 will be made apparent presently.

V than that of the aperture 14. The upper door 77 is provided along one edge thereof with a projecting lip 79, composed of rubber or similar substance, which assists in forming a liquid tight seal betweenfthe doors 77 l0 and 78 when they are together. The door 77 4 is also provided with a back brace 80 to which is welded and which forms a part of a pair of L-shaped arms 81-81. The L-,shaped arms 81-81, which are located on either side of the housing 42, areeach provided with a forked extension 82 (Figs. 6, 7 and 8), each portion thereofl being perforated to'receive the ends of shafts 83-83. Shafts 83-83 are rotatably mounted in individual bearings 85-85 which are mounted upon the side ,Walls of the drawing compartment in boxes .86-86 which'are secured thereto by bolts or other suitable aixing means 87-87. The

bearings 85vare each provided with a recess l 89, from the base of which projects a een:

tered springpost 90a A relatively sti coml pression spring 91 is mounted upon the spring post and seated againstthe front end` of the boxes 86-86. rIhe shafts 83-,83 are each provided, between the forked extensions of the L-shaped members, with a ;;ear'93,l which is-keyed to the shaft 83 so as to be rotatable therewith and with the L-shapd members. A pair of stationary horizontal .35 beams 94-94, placed at opposite sides of theA housing 42 at the inside thereof by. suitable brackets 95-95, each carry a bifurcated mem- .'ber 97 comprising a rear toothed shank portion 98 and oppositely. extending rack por-4 tions 99-99, the upper ofY which meshes with the gear '93.

Secured-to the floor of the drawing compartment in the rear-section 33 thereof'is acylinder-100 (Figs-3 and 7) :supplied with air or other uid pressure by any' conventional means (not shown). The'cylinder 100- is pivotally mounted in a base 1 1 by a suit-i able shaft v102, and contains va piston 104 which is movable from oneto the other end of the cylinder-l00 by the uid pressure to o'pen or close the doors of the ,drawing com-- partmentg The piston 104 of the cylinder 100 4is'provided with .a shaft 105 which is a tured atan extremity to receive Va pin 107Nby 1 one end ofa lever 108. The lever 108 is perforatedatvthe opposite end to receive a'- shaftY 109 which is keyed thereto, and which extends from side to side ofthe drawing compartment and rotates in suitable journal 4boxes 110 of the side walls 39-39.. Upon the shaft 109 there are keyed at either ed', gears 111-111, which respectively mesh with the toothed shank portions 98-98of the bi'- furcated members 97-97:

means of which the shaft is connected with The operation of the lower door 78lis ef- ;fected from the bifurcated members 97-97 by V means of a mechanism similar to that used in controlling the upper door 77. The lower door 78 is provided with a back brace 112 whichis integral with a pair of L-shaped arms 114-114. The L-shaped arms 114-114 are each provided with a forked extension 115, each portion thereof beingperforated to receive the ends of shafts 116-116. Shafts 116-116 are rotatable in'individual bearings 117-117 mounted upon the side walls of the drawing compartments in boxes 118-118 which are secured thereto directly junder the boites 86-86, by bolts or other suitable, afxing means (not shown). The

bearings 117-117 are recessed at 89 from 5. which recess projects a centered spring post 121. A relatively stiff lcompression spring.

122. is mounted thereon and seated against the front end of the boxes 118-118.l The shafts i 116-116 are each provided, between the forked extensionsof the L-shaped members with au gear 123, which is keyed to the shaft 116, so as to be rotatable therewith and with the L-shaped members. The lower rrack portion 99 meshes with the'gear 123 and causes it to rotate in an \opposite direction vfrom that of the gear 93. The front portion -41 of the drawing compartment is provided atjections 125-125 andthe lower door 78 with similar projections 126-126, which when the doors are closed fit into and closely engage the curved recesses 74` 74 of; the frame 72,

' which surfaces,v as wellas the inner surface of the frame lhave the continuous gasket 75 fixed thereto.

A switch4 rack'128 is secured ,to the front 41 of the :drawing compartment above thel door guard 72 and` accommodates switches 129-129, which are connected by -anysuitable arrangement .(not shown) to lregulate the functioningv of the various portions of the apparatus.

The take-up compartment 16 which is immediately sadjacent the drawing compart-V ment, consists -of a right Wall 130 (Fig. 1)

and a left' wall consisting ofthe right wall to theR take-up compartment. The takeup 139 of the ldrawing compartment, whichisprol i vided with an aperture '131 unit housed therein consists of a pair of idler pulleys 132-132,-mounted so as to be freely rotatable on shafts 13S- 133, secured in the compartment to a takei'u'p reel 134. The

'frame ofthe machine for the purpose of, con

take-up reel 134 mounted upon asupporting'arbor135, which is provided with lingers 136-136, which engage thev reel. The reel supporting arbor is engaged by a texropeor other suitable belting 137 ,which passes over c 138 mounted in the frame- 139, and which 1s driven by suitable .gearing .(not shown) from a 'shaft 140. The shaft a grooved pulley 140 is rotated, at any desired speed to correspond with the speed at which the wire is drawn, by an air or electric motor 141 of any conventional type. The frame/139 is secured to a block 143, whichl is slidably mounted with reference to a base 144 to which is secured the reel supporting arbor 135 and the motor 141. Mounted upon the front of the base 144 is a-collar 146 in which is vjour'naled an end ofa threaded member 147 which extends upwardly through a collar 148, which is inter-- nally threaded tocooperate with the threaded member'147. Theother end of the threaded member is apertured to receive a cross bar 149 by means of,` which the threaded member is rotated to raise or lower the frame supporting block y143 with' respect to the base 144 for the purpose of varying'the tension in the tex-rope 137 to prevent slipping.

In preparing the machine for operation a supply consisting of a coiled bundle of the copper rod stock 12 is placed over eachof the truncated cone-shaped posts 30--30, and the end of the bundle on the right hand post ris welded or otherwise connected to the beginning of the bundle on the left hand post, so as'to form a-single and continuous length of stock. The platform 26 is ,Athen rolled-into the supply compartment 11 and a portion of the stock is drawn from .the right hand post and passed over the right hand` pulley 32. Another portion is withdrawn from the left hand post and passed over the left hand pulley 32. lA greater length is then withdrawn from the right hand post and over the pulley 32 and Ais strung with the number of dies which it is desired to utilize in reducing the stock. In the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 2 a total of ten dies are used, each'being of a different bore. After Stringing the dies thereon, the stock is then passed through the die box 71 and drawn taut to engage the die having the-largest bore therein. The stock is then^passed around the .step of the low speed'capstan 56 which has the smallest .diameter, is looped therearound in order to insure perfect. gripping of the wire by the capstan, and is then passed over the iirst er innermost low speed idler sheave 44. It will be understood that the dies arel strung on the stock in the order of their progressively reducing bore diameters, the Jdiechaving the largest bore being strung first as pointed outv The die having the A second largest above. bore is then placed 1n the die box 48 and the stock looped around the next larger step of thelow speed capstan 56. The stock is thenv carried over the second low speed sheave 44, as shown in Fig. l4, and passed through the die-box 48, whichengages the third largest die, after which the stock is looped about the next larger step of the low speed capstan 56,

and the process carried out until the stock has been looped about the largest step of the low speed capstan 56, with the dies having from the second tothe fifth largest bores engaged by the die box 48. The `stock or wire 15 is then carried upwardly from the largest step of the low speed capstan and passed over the idler pulley and across to the irst or innermost high speed idler sheave 47. The

wire is then vpassed through the die box 49, which engages the die having the largest bore Thence the through the aperture 131 in the side wall 39 l of the take-up compartment, under the idler pulley 133 and over the idler pulley 132, and i thence downwardly to the take-up reel 134, to.

which it is secured in any 'suitable manner.

Having so prepared the machine for operation, the operator yactuates one of. the switches 129, which is suitably connected for that purpose with the iuid supply means, and pressure is thereby exerted'on the top of the piston 104, causing it to descend in the cylinder 100.- This causesa downward movement of the shaft 105 and lever 10x8 `and thel rotation of the shaftv 109 and gear 111 keyed therein in a contra-clockwise direction. The toothed shank portions 98 of the bifurcated members 97 is thus moved to the front of the machine, along the horizontal beams 94`-94, causing the rack portions 99-99 thereof to engage the gears 93 and 123 and rotate them simultaneously in opposite directions; The bifurcated members 82 and 115, being secured to the shafts .83 and 103. respectively, are

rotated with the shafts, and thedoors 77 and 78 are brought together between the wire drawing portions of the apparatus and.-the

' front portion 41, the rubber lip 79 of the door 77 forming a liquid tight seal with the corresponding edge o'f the door 78. At this stage the bifurcated members 97-97-are in a posi, tion intermediate of that shown `in Fig. 2 respectively in lfull and dotted lines; the doors are closed tightly against each other, but the main aperture 14 of the drawing compartment is not yet fully sealed. This is accom? plished by the continued descent of the piston 104 in the cylinder 100, which through the shaft 105, lever 108, and gear 111, causes the' bifurcated members 97-97 to advance and occupy the position indicated in Fig. 3 by dotted It will be seen that since the 99-99 of the bifurcated members 97-97 act l to move the shafts 83 and 123 and their respective bearings 85 and 117 forward along a horizontal line in their respective boxes 86 and 118 against the force of the compression springs 91 and 122, and cause the closed doors 77 and 78 to be moved bodily forward and to closely engage the gasket 75 throughout its entire extent, thus creating a liquid'tight seal for the aperture 14.

The apparatus being now in condition for operation, the operator actuates one of the v switches 129 which .is suitably connected for that purpose to establish the flow of lubrieating iiuid from the outlets 34 and 35 overthe dies in the die boxes. The fluid flows downwardly from the die holder and `over both high and low speed capstans 56 and 67 until the levelof the fluid in the bottom front`section of the drawing compartment reaches the mouth oflthe drain 127 (Fig. 2) whence it returns to the'source. This proc# ess is continuous during the wire drawing operation and enables the. continuous lubrication of the* drawing dies and, through the immersion of the capstans in the iuid, the gripping and rotation of the wire about the capstans with a minimum of friction and burning. After a suflicient ela^pseof time to permit the lubricating uid in the front section of the drawing compartment to attain the level of the drain 127, the operator presses another switch 129 for the purpose of actuating thedrive shaft 64 and associated drive gear 63, the intermediate gearv60-meshing with the'drive gear 63 and being rotated thereby inacontra-clockwise direction. S1- `multaneously the capstan shafts 51 andv 66 are set in action by the intermediate gear 60 to rotate the respective capstans 52 and 67 in a clockwise direction. The ,take-up reel 134 is simultaneously put in operation and thewire is drawn from left to right through: the 1 machine, over the low speed capstans and idlers, thence `to the high speed capstan and idlers, passing through the vanous reducing Y 55 dies in series until the wire 15, drawn from the drawing compartment, is of the finest diameter which the machine under the con- Jdition'of av die setup of the characterl d escribed is capable of producing.' Any sultable mechan1sm.(not shown) ployed to govern the relative speeds off the take-up imotor and the drawmg apparatus. The machinemay be-permitted to operate until the slipply of the rod stock12 has been exhausted and the completely drawn wire 15 may 'be em! stored uponlthe take-up reel 134. Since the door of the supply compartment may be raised as desired during operation of the v machine without danger to the operator, he-

will` have no difficulty in determining when the operation of the machine may be halted. .At that time the operator, by pressing another of the switches.l 29,'which is suitably connected for that purpose, may apply any suitable braking effect to stop the revolutions of the take-up reel, and simultaneously therewith the driving motor operating switch 129 may be operated to stop the rotation of the driven shaft 64 and the gear 63. v The lubricating fluid is then entirely drained off by any suitablemeans for example, by means of the valve controlledA drain 37 (Fig. 1) at the bot# tom of the front compartment and the doors 77 and 78 opened by introducing fluid pressure to the lower portion of the cylinder 100. The piston 104 is thereby forced upwardly and carries with it the shaft 107 and lever 108. The toothed shank portion 97 is then moved backwardly somewhat, through itsengagement with the gear'lll. The pressure on the lockedv gears 93 and 123 being thus removed, the compression springs 91 and 122 become effective to thrust the bearings 85 and v117 respectively rearwardly until they'icome to rest up against the rear wall df the' side boxes 86 and 118. The continued ascent of the piston 104 and the cylinder 100 continues the rotation of the lever-108 and the gear 111, with the resultthat the. toothed shank portion is engaged thereby andv carried rearwardly along the horizontal beams 94-94. The backward movement of the bifurcated membersk97causes the toothed rack portions 99-.99 to cooperate withthe gears 93 and `123, respectively, whichrotate the shafts' 83 and 116 to swing the'doors 77 and 78 backwardly. The `door operating mechanism described will be found, due to its unique design, which enables the doors 77 and '78 to -first come together to form a liquid tight seal, after which they aresubsequently forced 'against the gasket, a very efficient device for expeditiously opening4 and closing the aperture 14 of the front portion 42 with a liquid tight seal.`

/Byarranging the capstan and inclined idler shafts in the rectangular formation described and drawing the wire from an idler to its associated capstan in a substantially vertical plane, a compactly arrangeddiigh speed wire l drawing mechanism'is provided, and through placing the capstans side by -side on separate parallel shafts and `correspondingly arranging the respective groups of idler sheaves, the depth of the drawing compartment is materially reduced so that all ofthe portions of the apparatusv which are located in the front secltion thereof 'are within easy reach of an operator through the aperture 14. By maintaining the dies and capstans in the lubricat- 19 aisle, an appreciable saving in floor space is ing fluid it wi11 be found that the, wife may continuous movement to open or close the aperture. s

In' witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 14th day of December, A. D.,

-EINER W.l LARSEN.

jecting beyond the compartment and into the obtained and a substantial increase" in the safety factor is afforded.

Although the invention has been described in connection with the drawing of wire at high speeds from rod stock, it is obviously capable of many applications other than that shown and it should therefore be-limited only by the scope of the appended claims. What is claimed is: 1.. In a wire drawing machine, a substantially completely enclosablel working chamber having stock entrance and wire exit' ports and a verticaldoorway, 'a wire drawing unit housed in the chamber and comprising a horif zontally disposed low speed capstan and a horizontally disposed high' speed capstan positioned horizontally side by side and laterally spaced from the walls;v of the chamber,

means to form and maintain a bath offlubriv cant within the chamber and extending'ab'ove the threshold of the doorway and above the bottoms of thecapstans, a pair of pivoted and slidable doors forthe doorway,'and means to slide the `doorslinearly 'and unitedly away from the doorway and then arc'uately and oppositely into lthe lateral spaces between the capstans andthe chamber walls to open the sitioned horizontally side by side and later# doors and to reverse the action to close the.

doors.' A 4 2. In a wire drawingmachine, a substantially completely enclosable working. chanber havlng stock entrance and wire exit ports and a vertical doorway, a wire drawing unit zontallyl disposed low speed capstan `and av horizontally disposed high speed capstan poally spaced from the wallszofthe chamber,

` means to .form and maintain a bath of lubricant within the chamber and extending above the -threshold ofthe doorway andabove the bottoms ofthe capstans, a pair of pivoted and 'slidable doors for the doorway, and means j to slide the doors linearly and unitedly away housed in the chamber and comprising a horifrom the doorway and then arcuatelyand oppositelyinto the lateral spaces between the capstans and the chamber walls to open the doors and to reversethe action to close the doors, said last mentioned means comprising oppositely disposed pivoted arms for carrying the doors, a toothed member for carrying the arms, and means for actuating the toothed member to move the arms in opposite directions and then in the same' direction by single 

